Field of the Invention
The present application relates generally to methods and apparatus for processing interference due to non-linear products of transmitted signals in a wireless network, and more specifically, but not exclusively, to detection and reduction of interference caused to a receiver due to passive intermodulation (PIM) products and/or passive harmonic (PH) products.
Description of the Related Technology
Non-linear products may be generated in a wireless system when a signal is transmitted along a signal path including a component having a non-linear transmission characteristic; these products typically differ in frequency from the signal or signals from which they were generated, and may potentially cause interference to other signals. The generation of non-linear products such as intermodulation products and harmonic products is becoming a problem of increasing importance in modern wireless communication systems, and in particular cellular wireless systems, since the radio frequency spectrum available has been steadily expanded as additional bands have become available, and the pattern of allocation of uplink and downlink bands within the available spectrum for use by various cellular systems, such systems using GERAN (GSM EDGE Radio Access Network), UTRAN (UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) and E-UTRAN (Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) radio access networks, and by various operators, is complex and territorially dependent. In this environment, and in particular at a cellular radio base station, it is likely that circumstances arise in which non-linear products generated from transmitted carriers in one or more downlink bands would fall within an uplink band in which signals are received at the base station. Non-linear products generated by non-linear characteristics of active components such as power amplifiers may generally be dealt with at a design stage by appropriate frequency management and filtering, but non-linear products caused by non-linear characteristics of passive components, so called passive intermodulation (PIM) products and/or passive harmonic (PH) products, may prove more difficult to manage. Many passive components may exhibit a non-linear transmission characteristic to some degree, for example due to an oxide layer at a metal to metal contact, and the non-linear characteristic may develop with time as an ageing process of the component. Furthermore, PIM or PH may be caused by components in the signal path between the transmitter and the receiver that are external to the transceiver equipment and which may be outside the operator's control, such as metallic objects on the antenna tower or other objects in the signal path through the propagation environment, such as fences; this is known as the “rusty bolt” effect.
Interference due to PIM or PH may reduce the carrier to interference ratio at a receiver, which may reduce coverage by a cell significantly. Conventionally, as a solution to the problem of suspected interference caused by PIM or PH in a cellular radio network, the source of the PIM or PH may be tracked down by field engineers and a component causing the PIM or PH may be replaced. However, this is labor intensive and relies on the problem being identified in order to alert the field engineers.